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United States
|royal_anthem = |imperial_anthem = |image_map = United States (orthographic projection).png |map_caption = |capital = |largest_city = |official_languages = |demonym = |government_type = Federal presidential constitutional republic, Two-party system |ruler = |rulertitle = President |formation_date = July 4, 1776 |national_animal = |area = 3,794,101 sq mi |population = 312,598,113 |ethnicity = |currency = $ |gdpyear = |gdp = |gdppercapita = |literacy = |cctld = |drivinglane = Right |dateformat = |time_zone = |footnotes = |portal = }} ''This country is part of the Axis Sphere ''The United States of America (commonly called the United States, the U.S., the USA, America, and the States) is a federal constitutional republic consisting of fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Pacific and Caribbean. At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km2) and with over 312 million people, the United States is the third largest country by total area, and the third-largest by and population.It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries. Geography The land area of the contiguous United States is 2,959,064 square miles (7,663,941 km2). Alaska, separated from the contiguous United States by Canada, is the largest state at 663,268 square miles (1,717,856 km2). Hawaii, occupying an archipelago in the central Pacific, southwest of North America, is 10,931 square miles (28,311 km2) in area. The United States is the world's third largest nation by total area (land and water), ranking behind Russia and Canada and just above China. The ranking varies depending on how two territories disputed by China and India are counted and how the total size of the United States is measured: calculations range from 3,676,486 square miles (9,522,055 km2) to 3,717,813 square miles (9,629,091 km2) to 3,794,101 square miles (9,826,676 km2). Measured by only land area, the United States is third in size behind Russia and China, just ahead of Canada The lowest and highest points in the continental United States are in the state of California, and only about 80 miles apart. At 20,320 feet (6,194 m), Alaska's Mount McKinley is the tallest peak in the country and in North America. Active volcanoes are common throughout Alaska's Alexander and Aleutian Islands, and Hawaii consists of volcanic islands. The supervolcano underlying Yellowstone National Park in the Rockies is the continent's largest volcanic feature. Political Divisions The United States is a federal union of fifty states. The original thirteen states were the successors of the thirteen colonies that rebelled against British rule. Early in the country's history, three new states were organized on territory separated from the claims of the existing states: Kentucky from Virginia; Tennessee from North Carolina; and Maine from Massachusetts. Most of the other states have been carved from territories obtained through war or purchase by the U.S. government. One set of exceptions includes Vermont, Texas, and Hawaii: each was an independent republic before joining the union. During the American Civil War, West Virginia broke away from Virginia. The most recent state—Hawaii—achieved statehood on August 21, 1959 The states do not have the right to unilaterally secede from the union.